100 off an item for sale?!

[Commander Kinsey]

Why do people say 100 OFF screws when they're selling 100 OF them? It's of, not off:

[hubops]

Why don't you just axt them ? John T.

[Commander Kinsey]

Have I asked before? My memory clearly isn't as good as yours.

So f*ck up your grammar incase you forgot to finish typing?

The only reason I've heard that makes the slightest bit of sense is that (particularly in the Army), stocktaking meant you were handing out 100 items, and reducing your stock by 100, so 100 off the stock.

[Commander Kinsey]

I've heard of this misspelling or mispronounciation before, but never known anyone to actually use it. Do I have to visit da hood?

[Commander Kinsey]

Parrots are sold as breeding pairs, so why not screws and nuts?

[Commander Kinsey]

Trouble is, when you're selling me 100 items, I don't care what your inventory is.

[Commander Kinsey]

Something went up with the connection to the newsserver. It sat in the outbox, but I noticed it was busy downloading new messages so I waited (I have the cheaper option which only allows 2 connections at once). I think (f*ck me, I can't remember) I might have then had to resend it, or maybe not. Anyway, I guess it had and didn't think it had. Strange, since my newsserver doesn't usually let me post duplicates (which I've also remembered wrongly as I just sent a duplicate to alt.test).

You mean sort off. You may tell me to f*ck of for that pun :-)

I can understand it being used for letters, and do so on the phone when reading a car reg number or a postcode, but numbers are all clearly different. Although some people seem to confuse 2 and 3, which are entirely different vowel sounds, even if you mishear t and th, how can you confuse oo and ee?

No, it doesn't make sense. I would never write 100 of or 100 off. I'd write "100 of the large desks" or "100 of 300 have been used". "100 of" is clearly missing something. I also don't say "my bad".

Yeah but I don't expect backwards way first language in civilian areas.

[Commander Kinsey]

How is that any better than using the correct word "of"?

[Commander Kinsey]

Yes, no number sounds similar to another. But P and D do.

What? I just told you they sound different, so you don't need phonetics. What you're thinking of is the Irish.

Being familiar with something doesn't mean it makes sense.

Huh?

I'd say either:

M6 x 1.5 x 25 hex stainless machine screw, 25 of M6 x 1.5 x 25 hex stainless machine screw, 25 of them

Or if I hadn't forgotten the number at the start:

25 of M6 x 1.5 x 25 hex stainless machine screw

Putting it your way round is like the French. The car red.

That's clear, mine isn't.

I'm in the category that speak English.

What you drinking?

[Commander Kinsey]

That's the same meaning, so cannot be called "confused".

But it's wrong. It's misusing the word.

[Commander Kinsey]

Actually if it has a nut, isn't it a bolt?

[Commander Kinsey]

Off is misleading since it sounds like you're reducing the price.

[RH Draney]

Can you explain its meaning in the notice "we cook off our potatoes"?...r

[jon]

'off' It means to be separated, hence 200 off means 200 separate items.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Why not simply say 100 and that is it, maybe call it 1 box of 100 or whatever. So many issues have occurred in the past with quantaties, like 1 pack triple ply toilet rolls. Pack of ten, only to find each pack has 6 in it, and suddenly your house has a slightly lower volume than before but very good acoustics, and a novel wall covering. Brian

[Chris Green]

It was (still is?) pretty standard wording on 'business' invoices and orders for lists of small items:-

10 off Green Widgets at 5p per widget 0.50 5 off Blue Thinges at 9p per widget 0.45

I think the intent was to make it absolutely clear that the '10 off' and '5 off' are quantities. In particular you might get something like:-

5 off Packet of 5 teaspoons at 57p per packet

Back in 'the old days' many businesses wouldn't have pre-printed order forms etc. with a 'Quantity' column and so orders were typed out on plain paper which necessitated some very explicit way of giving quantities.

[RH Draney]

I'd still be inclined to read it as a discount....

When I'm picking up food orders, the delivery app lists multiple quantities of items as:

3x Large French Fries 1x Double Cheese Burger 3x Two Tacos (that's a quirk of the Jack-in-the-Box menu that ensures that almost nobody will get the number of tacos they actually intended to order)

....r

[soup]

Not necessarily, 'Machine screws' can have nuts .

[Ed Pawlowski]

I've heard the term used over the years to denote how things are packaged. Perhaps as they came off the machine? 100 off, 50 off, etc.

[Commander Kinsey]

I'd forgotten about those. So is it only a bolt if it has a hex end?

On that note, my neighbour calls screws "screw nails". WTF is that about? Reminds me of an elderly man I knew as a kid who put woodscrews in with a hammer. When I questioned it he said the screwdriver was for removing them.